The tension is building for politicians and the public alike as the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) deadline to release the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) looms closer. The last few months have seen both supporters and opponents making their cases known to the EPA and general public.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said, following a letter sent to Gina McCarthy last week, that they believe the issue of RFS is one that should rest in the hands of Congress.
“We want the EPA to use its authority given to it by Congress in the short term to make a practical decision to keep the mandate from increasing,” Welch stated, “ But the entire ethanol mandate should be reconsidered by Congress.”
Other members are also working to make their voices heard. Senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., are uniting to come up with legislation to remove the corn-ethanol mandate from the RFS.
Those who are in favor of increasing the RFS, such as Brian Jennings of the American Coalition for Ethanol, are becoming concerned over the possibility of legislative influences.
While ethanol can be apart of an “all-of-the-above” energy plan, Congress must carefully weigh the benefits of the additive as it considers the future mandate.
Jill Donovan, a graduate of California’s Polytechnic University in San Louis Obispo, is the Communications Director for Nouveau Corporation.